Play was halted before a game at the Swiss Indoors could even begin after fog filled the pitch.
Ben Shelton and Andrey Rublev completed their warm-ups but were unable to start the quarterfinals due to the bizarre interruption.
The American tried to clear the fog with his towel, but it took eight minutes before it started.
Shelton and Rublev completed their warmups as usual, but both men suddenly found themselves sitting on their benches instead of getting up to play. Commentators quickly noticed that there was a cloud of smoke hanging in the air.
“We’re just a little late here, look at the haze around us,” Peter Marcato said. “It’s very traumatic Robbie, it’s from the smoke when the players leave the pitch.”
But some fans were still amazed. Presiding referee Arnaud Gabas quickly made an announcement: “Ladies and gentlemen, we will wait a little longer for the game to start before the smoke clears.”
Shelton had a suggestion and turned to the referee. “What do you think would happen if we started doing all towels like this?” he said, waving his towel in the air and leaving commenters fuming.
“Well, you see, he’s an idea guy, Ben Shelton. Give it a try!” Marcato laughed. Co-commentator Robbie Koenig responded: “Everyone criticizes, but he’s a doer, right?”
The world number 23 decided to give it a try, walking to the middle of the pitch and fanning the mist with his towel. Marcato added: “Exactly, he is the only one who can find a solution here. Let’s go!”
It didn’t do much, but Shelton’s attempts earned him loud applause as Rublev watched and giggled. The 22-year-old eventually gave up but told the referee it could work if 10 people tried it.
The experts had fun analyzing the American’s towel posture.
“Good technology. The consistency of the swing was nice, he holds his head up while moving the towel back and forth. Look at the ground reaction force there and then he transfers that weight through the arms to the towel. And maximum striking area of.” “The towel towards the smoke,” Koenig joked.
After an eight-minute delay, the fog cleared – thanks in part to Shelton – and the second game of the day at the Swiss Indoors could finally begin
The winner of the Shelton vs. Rublev quarterfinal will face Arthur Fils, who eliminated third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.